Sectional wall and method of erecting it



Jam 15, 1934- G. D. MORRISON SECTIONAL WALL AND METHOD OF ERECTING IT Filed Jan. 23, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet MMM? Jam 16, 1934. G. D. MORRISON SECTION/KL WALL AND METHOD OF ERECTING IT Filed Jan. 23, 1932 5 4Sheets-Shee'r, 2

3mm/vbo@ Mon 71s o 71 MMM l awww? Jan- 16 1934- G. D. MORRISON SECTIONAL WALL AND METHOD OF ERECTING 1T Filed Jan. 23, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet Jan- 16, 1934- G. D. MORRISON SECTIONAL WALL AND METHOD OF ERECTING IT Filed Jan. 25, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan. 16, 1,934.

G.D. MORRISON sECTIoNAL WALL AND METHOD 0F ERECTING IT Filed Jan. 23, 1932 5 ShefalZS-Shee'l 5 5U RFACE OF WATER Patented Jan. 16, 1934 Unirse srArEs PATENT ortica sEo'rIoNAL WALL AND METHOD oF Essonne rr George D. Morrison, Santa Barbara, Calif'.-

Application January 23, 1932. Seriali No. 538,4181

9 Claims. (Cl. 61u39) This invention relates to the erection of con- Figure 8 is a vertical transverse section throughl crete or other structures such as houses, buildthe blocks forming a wall in accordance with my ings, sea walls, piers, bridges, caissons, silos, tanlrs, invention;

chimneys, dams, breakwaters, etc., and particu- Figure 9 is an elevation of the central pile and larly to walls, either horizontal or vertical of prethe hammer therefor, the basic block being shown G0 cast blocks or preprepared units. in section;

One of the principal objects is to provide Figure 10 is a section on the line 10--10 of Figmeans whereby the use oi casting forms in the ure 9; erection of such structures may be done away Figure 11 is a section on the line 11--11 of l0 with, thus making the method particularly suit- Figure 9;

able for erecting structures under water and Figure 12 is a longitudinal sectional View of the particularly where there is a rapid current or wall and showing in elevation the means whereby surf, though l do not wish to be limited to this. liquid cement or like binding material may be A further object is to provide a method which forced into the joints; l5 makes it possible to iill the joints between the Figure 13 is an enlarged fragmentaryk secblocks or units of a concrete or articial stone tional view through one of the blocks of the wall structure with grouting or other initially plastic showing the hose whereby the liquid cement is filling material after the blocks have been put forced into place. in place. Before describing the method whereby the Another object is to provide means whereby structure is erected, I will describe one form of Water jets may be forced down beneath the base the blocks or sections which may be used. Reor foundation blocks of the structure to wash out ferring to Figure 1, it will be seen that the block the sand, mud or other material and permit the l0 may have any desired length and any desired proper bedding of the basic blocks. width depending upon the structure to be erected. Another object is to provide a method of erect- The middle portion of the block is provided with ing structures which contemplates the Lse of a man hole or vertical opening 1l which extends guide elements, either supported in a horizontal down through the entire block from the top to plane or driven into the ground by which a sethe bottom thereof. The ends of the block are ries or column oi blocks or a complete section or formed with vertical grooves 12. The lower face unit of a structure may be guided into place beof the block is formed with a tongue 13 which tween said guide elements, these guide elements is interrupted `by the manhole or opening 11 and being left in place or removed if desired. the upper face of the block is provided with a Other objects will appear in the course of the corresponding groove 14 to receive the tongue following description. of a superjacent block. Each block is formed My invention is illustrated in the accoinpanywith longitudinally extending passages which ing drawings as applied to one particular type open upon the end faces of the block and upon of structure, whereinzthe surface of the man hole and with vertical Figure 1 is a top plan View of one of the blocks passages extending from the horizontal passages of a sectional wall, the guide braces being in secand opening upon the bottom of the block. 4.@ tion; These passages, as shown in Figure 2, are pref- Figure 2 is a side elevation of the section shown erably formed by pipe 15 embedded in the block in Figure 1; 10 when it is cast. The vertical pipes 16 are Figure 3 is a Vertical sectional View of a porconnected to the horizontal pipes l5 by means of tion of a wall constructed in accordance with Ts or any other suitable connection. While prefmy invention; erably, I use the pipes 15 and 16 embedded in Figure 4 is a top plan view of a basic block, the the block for the reason that these pipes act to curtain wall or piling being in section, the upper reinforce the block, but I do not wish to be form being omitted; limited to this as the blocks might be cast or Figure 5 is a side elevation of the structure otherwise formed with these passages. The basic 5o shown in Figure 4; block l)a shown in Figure Ll has the same form as Figure 6 is a top plan view oi a block with the the block l0 which has just been described eX- removable forni thereon; cept that it is provided with a plurality of verti- Figure l is a vertical section through the basic cal pipes designed for the purpose of causing jets block showing the water jets, the curtain wall of water to be discharged downward against the and like parts; sand, mud, clay or other bed upon which the basic block is to rest. This will be described later.

The recesses 12 at the ends of the blocks nt upon and are guided into position by vertical columns or guides 17 which may be made of steel, iron or any other suitable material and which may have any desired form in cross section. I have illustrated in Figure l., the column having the forin of an H in cross section, but it is to be distinctly understood that the particular shape of the column is not material and may be varied in many ways. The colurnn 17 constitutes a pile and will be hereafter termed a pile and is designed to be driven down by any suitable means into the substratum A prior to forming the wall or other structure.

Where structures are being erected above water level, as for instance, where ordinary buildings, silos and other walls are being raised, the basic block for the structure may or may not have the same form as the blocks 1G but where structures are being erected which are partly or entirely covered by water, it is necessary, after the driving of the piles 17, that the basic block should be lowered and that the silt, sand or like material be washed out and that it be washed up through the man hole and pumped out by a sand pump. To this end, it is necessary to use in laying the basic course of blocks a curtain wall or form constituting` in effect a caisson and to provide the basic block with means for washing out the sand. This basic block with its outer wall and its water jets is illustrated particularly in Figures 4 to 7. This basic block is illustrated as provided with the laterally disposed vertically extending pipes 18 into the lower ends of which are telescoped the water jet pipes 19. Rubber washers or packings 20 are disposed around the jet pipes 19 and fit snugly against the inner faces of the pipes or passages 18.

initially these pipes 19 project below the surface of the basic block 1GDL as shown in Figure 'I and water is forced downward through the passages or pipe 18 by a manifold 18a and through these jet pipes, the water acting to scour out the sand or like material, the pipes 18 being connected, as for instance, by hose, to any suitable source of water under pressure.

At the time the basic block is to be lowered, into position, it is provided with a curtain wall or walls constituting in effect caisson walls formed of sheet piling. To this end there is mounted upon the block l()EL two stationary forms 21 vertically separated frorn each other, each stationary form having an outer wall and an inner wall designated respectively 22 and 23. These walls are parallel to each other and the inner wall bears snugly against the face of the block. There is a form 2l on each face of the block, it is to be understood, projecting slightly 1beyond the ends of the block. Within these stationary frames formed by the members 22 and 23 and which 1 have called forms, there are disposed vertical form boards 24, there being preferably two layers of these form boards. While I have referred to these as being boards, it is to be understood that any sheet piling might be used for this purpose and that these forni boards 24 might be made of metal, wood or any other suitable means. These are inserted between the members 22 and 23 prior to the lowering of the basic block into position and as the block is initially lowered, these forms will rest upon the sand, clay or other material forming the substraturn as shown in Figure 5. These elements 24 may be provided at their upper ends with the laterally extending flanges 25 as shown in Figure 7 and mounted upon the block 1)a above the uppermost stationary form 21 is a removable form 26 having apertures through which the piles pass and having a yoke 2'? provided with means whereby it may be connected to a hoisting line or cable so that after the basic block has been properly bedded, the removable forni 26 may be raised, lifting the elements 24 with it. It is to be understood, however, that these elements 24 are not lifted out of position around the basic block until the basic block has been properly bedded and, by the use of the water jets 19, the sand has been washed out to the extent required to bed the block upon a suitable foundation, as for instance a substratuin of clay, soft rock or the like. In Figure 5, S designates the sand to be removed from above the sub-stratum C of clay. The basic block is formed with the vertical passages 16 as are the blocks to be used above the basic block, but this vertical passage, as illustrated in Figure '7, is in the basic block flared at its lower end as at 16a. Thus by means which will be hereafter described, cement, grouting or other initially plastic lling material may be forced down under the basic block to secure a firm foundation for the basic block.

It will, of nourse, be understood that in erecting the structure previously described, the first thing that is done is the driving of the vertical piles 17, that then the basic blocks of the entire wall or a section of the wall, as desired, are lowered into position, the sand being forced out by the water jets so as to properly bed the basic blocks i and that then after this has been done, the superincurnbent blocks 10 are to be put in place, each block being lowered between the guide piles 17 until it rests firmly upon the block beneath and so on until the wall is completed. Throughout the entire construction the wall, the man hole 1l is to be left open in each section.

When any section has been completed, a pile designated 28 in Figures l and 9 can be driven into the bed upon which the wall rests. This pile may be of any desired height and may eX- tend upward above the top of the wall or may be a short pile or have any desired cross section or shape. The pile 28 may be driven into position by means of the pile driver extension shown in Figures 9 to 11 which is particularly applicable for driving this pile in or through the man-hole formed by the openings 11 in superjacent blocks. In Figure 9, the pile is designated 28 and against the web of this pile at the upper end of the pile 28, there is disposed the opposed heavy plates 29. These plates 29 are connected to the pile 28 by means of a soft shear bolt 30. These plates 29 at their upper portions are securely bolted as at 3l to a column which may be one of the H piles of the pile driver may then be used in the ordinari manner to drive this short pile, the hammer acting against the extension until the pile has been properly driven into place. The extension 32 is constituted by an iron or column which is H-shaped in cross section or has any other desired all!) led form. rIhis extension may be used as a supplementary guide but is in no case to be left in place until the man-hole is filled.

The use of this extension is for the purpose of eliminating the necessity of cutting the pile 28 to a certain elevation under water.

For the purpose of lling the joints between the several blocks and on the bottom of the basic block with filling material, I have provided the means illustrated in Figure 8, this means being particularly devised for the purpose of insertion down through theman hole formed in the superjacent blocks and particularly devised for the .purpose of securing communication between a 'source of semi-iiuid or fluid cement or other lling material and the horizontal passages or pipes 15. This means comprises a pipe 33 which is connected by suitable couplings to a pipe section 34 having at its lower end a T 35. From this T extend two sections of armoured hose, each section being designated 36, this armoured hose being, of course, exible. Each section of hose carries at its end a washer 37 which forms a plug ,within the pipe or passage 15. Each section 36 of 33, that is, upon the head 39, which forms the lower end of this pipe section are the toggle links and 41 which are pivoted to each other, pivoted to the block 39 and pivoted to the shoes 33. Therefore, it is obvious that when the hose `sections 36 have been inserted within the openings or passages 15 and the weight of the pipe section 33 is allowed to urge this pipe section downward, the toggle links 40 will force the rubber faced shoes 38 in tight contact with the winner face of the man hole around the passages When this has been accomplished, liquid cement or other lling material is forced down through the pipe 33 into the passages 15 out through the ends of these passages into the space around the piles 17 and downward through the 'passages 16 into the tongue and grooved joints between the several blocks, thus lling these joints and making practically a monolithic strueture.

While I have heretofore referred to the use of :this joint lling apparatus shown in Figure 12,

after the Wall has been completed, it is to be understood that the joint lling apparatus might be used after, for instance, the basic block has been set, then the. joint filling apparatus re- 'moved, the next block put in position and the joint filling mechanism be applied to the next adjacent block to thus ll the joints therein and so on. I do not wish to be limited, therefore,

Vto iilling the joints after the wall is completed -1 or filling the joints as each block is put in place or indeed to filling the joints at all inasmuch as under some circumstances and for rapid construction, the wall may be built without the joints being filled. This particularly applies to tem- Vporary constructions, as for example to walls ticularly structures above water' level, these vertical and relatively large passages may be left unfilled so that they may be later used for the insertion of steam pipes, water pipes, wiring or as Ventilating openings or they may be omitted entirely.

This structure which I have described and the method of erecting it is particularly adapted for the construction of groins, coffer dams, breakwaters, sea walls, piers, caissons, out-fall sewers and the like. It may also be used for the erection of river controlled walls, bridges, culverts, dams, tanks and reservoirs, silos, irrigation works and the like and it is also adapted to be used for salvaging shipwrecks or in shallow water.

While I have heretofore referred to a structure wherein the guide elements are in the form of piles 17 driven vertically into the ground, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to this as these guide elements might be disposed and supported in a horizontal plane and the preformed filling elements, blocks or units may be inserted one by one into the space between each pair of guiding elements and the joints between said guiding andthe filling elements or units be lled with initially liquid binding material.

While this method of construction is particularly applicable to under water work, I do not wish to be limited thereto as for example the same methods or same structures may be used in the erection of buildings on land as in the construction of building walls, chimneys, retaining walls, houses, piers, etc. One of the basic features of my structure and the method of erecting it resides in the use of the guides 17 which, as I have stated, may be either in a horizontal or vertical plane, which may be made of steel, wood, concrete or other suitable material driven into the ground or otherwise secured at one end and if necessary anchored at the other end so that the guide elements are in true parallelism along which piles or guides the preformed blocks or units may be slid into place. These constructional units are thus held in position by the guides or piles and these guides or piles are either left in position or removed as desired.

While I have heretofore referred to the blocks er units as being formed of cement or articial stone, I do not wish to be limited to this as they might be of wood, iron, tile or other material. By the provision of the guiding piles 17, it is an easy matter to slide the blocks or units into place and be certain that they properly register with one another whereas if the guiding piles were not used, it would be very diiiicult to slide the blocks or units into correct relation, particularly in under-water work or in rapid currents or heavy seas or surf. Obviously, these guiding piles may be spaced from each other at any desired distance according to the length of the blocks or units and obviously these units may be of any desired length or width and I do not wish to be limited to the exact form of units shown. Thus, for instance, the units are illustrated as having an enlarged middle portion to accormnodate the man-hole opening whereas, if desired, the blocks may have a uniform width throughout their length and may have no man-hole or other opening in them. The man-hole opening may be large enough for the passage of workmen or may be just large enough to permit the insertion of the lling mechanism illustrated in Figure 12.

It will be seen that the man hole provides means whereby the suction hose of a sand pump may be inserted to withdraw the sand from beneath the basic block or unit and that the piles 17 may be the means for supporting the sand pump structure and also the means for supporting the cement pump and the mechanism shown in Figure l2 as also the mechanism for driving the piles 28 as illustrated.

I claim:-

1. A method of building structures which includes driving vertical guide piles, lowering a preformed base block into the space between said guide piles, the base block having guiding engagement with the guide piles, carrying a removable caisson down with the base block, washing out the sand beneath the base block until the base block is settled in place, removing the caisson, and lowering superincumbent blocks one by one into said space between the guide piles to form a structure, each of the superincumbent blocks having guiding engagement with the guide piles.

2. A method ol" building walls which includes driving vertical guide piles, lowering a preformed base block into the space between said guide piles, the base blo-cli having guiding engagement with the piles, and carrying oppositely disposed curtain walls, the lower ends of the walls projecting initially below the lower face of the base block, washing out the sand beneath the base block until it has settled in place, removing said curtain walls, and lowering superincumbent blocks one by one into the space between the piles to form the wall, each of said superincumbent blocks having guiding engagement with the guide piles.

'3. A method of building walls which includes driving vertical guide piles, lowering a preformed base block into the space between said guide piles, the base block having'guiding engagement with the piles, and carrying oppositely disposed curtain walls, the lower ends of the walls projecting initially below the lower face of the base block, washing out the sand beneath the base block until has settled in place, removing said curtain walls, lowering superincumbent blocks one by one into the space between the piles to form the wall, each of said superimcumbent blocks having guiding engagement with the guide piles, and forcing liquid cement into the joints between 'the several blocks.

4. A method of building walls which includes driving a series of guide piles, lowering a preformed base block into the space between each pair of piles, the base block being formed with a vertical open-ended chamber and with end grooves having guiding engagement with the piles, carrying oppositely disposed curtain walls downward with the base block, the lower ends of the curtain walls being initially below the base block, washing out the sand beneath the base block until it is settled in place, removing said curtain walls, lowering superincumbent blocks one by one into the spaces between said guide piles to thereby form the wall, each of said blocks having pile engaging grooves on its ends and having an open ended chamber registering with the chamber in the base block, driving a pile into the material below the base block, the pile extending through said chamber, forcing liquid cement into the joints between said several blocks and into the space between the ends of adjacent blocks and the guide piles, and filling the well formed by said chambers with cement.

5. A wall or structure of the character described, including a vertical series of blocks, vertical guide members at each end of the series of blocks, the blocks having guiding grooves engaging around the guide members, each of said blocks having a medially disposed vertical openended Chamber, the chambers alining with each other when the blocks are in place to form a well, each of said blocks having longitudinally extending passages opening at their inner ends into said well and at their outer ends upon the end faces of the block, each block having vertical passages opening into the first-named passages and upon the lower face of the block.

6. A wall or structure of the character described, including a vertical series of blocks, vertical guide members at each end of the series of blocks, the blocks having guiding grooves engaging around the guide members, each of said blocks having a medially disposed vertical open-ended chamber, the chambers alining with each other when the blocks are in place to form a well, each of said blocks having longitudinally extending passages opening at their inner ends into said well and at their outer ends upon the end faces of the block, each block having vertical passages opening into the first-named passages and upon the lower face of the block, the base block being provided with vertically extending passages opening upon the upper face of the base block and jet pipes disposed in said passages and initially projecting below the base block but telescoping into the base block.

7. A structure or" the character described, comprising vertical guide members, a base block having grooves at its ends to receive the guide members, the base block having longitudinally extending recess upon its upper face, and a plurality of superincumbent blocks adapted to rest one on another and upon the base block, each formed with a downwardly projecting tongue on its lower face, and a longitudinaly extending groove on its upper ace to receive the tongue of the superincumbent block, each superincumbent block having grooves at its ends to receive the guide members, all of said blocks being formed with a medially disposed chamber open at its upper and lower ends whereby to form a well extending vertically through the structure, each block having longitudinally extending passages opening into said well and opening into the guide grooves on the ends of the block and having passages extending vertically from the first-named passages and opening upon the under face of the block.

8. In a structure of the character described, vertical guide elements, a base block disposed between said guide elements and having grooves on its ends to receive said guide elements, the base block having a medially disposed opened end chamber and having longitudinally extending passages opening into said chamber and opening into said grooves, the block having vertical passages extending downward from the firstnamed passages and opening upon the under face of the block, said block having vertical water pipes extending entirely through the block, and jet pipes having telescopic engagement with the last-named pipes and initially projecting below the lower iace of the block, a stationary form mounted upon opposite faces of the base block and conforming in shape thereto, the form having outer and inner spaced walls, sheet piling disposed between said walls and on each side of the base block and initially projecting below the base block, and a removable form at the upper end of the base block having outer and inner walls, the sheet piling having iianges with which the removable form is adapted to engage when lifted to thereby lit the piling out of the terminal form.

9. A method of building structures including disposing vertical guide elements in parallel relation to each other, lowering a preformed base` unit into space between each pair of guide elements, the base unit having a chamber iorrned in it open at its top and bottom, washing the sand out from beneath the base unit as it is lowered, and forcing the sand up through said GEORGE D. MORRISON. 

